Toga-like disposable garments

ABSTRACT

A toga-like disposable article of apparel suitable as a medical examination gown or for other purposes. The gown is constituted by a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours being such as to define a front section having access openings therein, and a flap extension adapted to fold over the front section normally to cover the openings. The front is integral with a back section, the front and back sections being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm.

United States Patent [191 Zamist TOGA-LIKE DISPOSABLE GARMENTS [22] Filed: Mar. 24, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 127,713

[451 Aug, 14, 1973 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney--Michael Ebert ABSTRACT A toga-like disposable article of apparel suitable as a medical examination gown or for other purposes. The gown is constituted by a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours being such as to define a front section having access openings therein, and a flap extension adapted to fold over the front section normally to cover the openings. The front is integral with a back section, the front and back sections being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab exten' sions whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm.

8 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTIEIJ 3.751.730

sum 1 OF 2 INVENTOR 6O E ZAMIST BY W ATTORNEY PATENTEU 3.751.730

SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR OPHIE ZAMIST ATTORNEY TOG A-LIKE DISPOSABLE GARMENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to low-cost disposable wearing apparel, and more particularly to medical examination gowns, beauty salon smocks, and other useful garments created from two-dimensional blanks that are convertible into three-dimensional garments without heat-sealing, sewing or other fastening expedients adding to production costs.

With the advent of non-woven fabrics made of paper, needled felts, battings, and other types of textiles produced by causing fibers tointerlock or adhere to each other to form a web, it has become possible to manufacture low-cost, disposable apparel, particularly articles of a utilitarian nature intended for a single wearing. Thus it is known to make medical examination gowns of paper or similar low-cost sheeting material. Such gowns are employed in doctors offices and in hospitals and are supplied to patients about to undergo examination. After examination, the gown is discarded, thereby dispensing with the vneed to launder and resterilize a conventional fabric gown.

An examination gown, to be useful, must of course serve adequately to cover the patient and in this way to preserve modesty. But to be commercially acceptable, to gown must not only afford freedom of movement and comfort to the patient, but it should also lend itself to ready examination of the patient by the doctor. If, therefore, the gown design is such that in order to permit examination of the chest or breasts of the patient, it becomes necessary to remove the gown, this design fails to satisfy its basic function, which is to preserve modesty.

Commercially available medical examination gowns made of disposable materials suffer from a number of serious practical drawbacks, among which are the following:

A. The gowns make access to particular areas of the body difficult, so that where medical examination of the neck, shoulders, armpits, chest or breasts is in order it usually becomes necessary to remove the gown, thereby rendering the patient immodest.

B. Existing gowns are heat-sealed, glued, hot-wax sealed or sewn to complete their manufacture or, they are held together by strings or belts. These operations add materially to the cost of garment production and give rise to selling prices which discourage mass distribution:

C. Disposable examination gowns of the existing type are inherently uncomfortable and unflattering to the patient. Since such gowns cannot, for practical reasons, be made in a variety of sizes and styles, allpurpose gowns of the type presently on the market are shapeless and unattractive, and tend to depress the patient. Inasmuch as the psychological state of the patient is a factor in medicine, the negative effect on this state by existing gowns cannot be disregarded. I Similarly, in beauty-salon gowns and other disposable articles of apparel having a utilitarian function, existing designs are not only relatively costly in that they require sewing, the addition of buttons or other means to hold the garment together, but they are also unsatisfactory in regard to comfort and appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is the main object of this invention to provide a low-cost, disposable garment that functions efficiently for its intended purpose and yet is both comfortable and stylish.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a disposable article of wearing apparel created from a two-dimensional blank that is convertible into a three-dimensional garment without heat-sealing, sewing, or other fastening expedients adding to the cost of producing the article.

Among the significant features of the invention, as applied to medical examination gowns, are the following:

A. The gown affords adequate coverage for the patient without interfering with the ability of the doctor to examine the chest, breasts, back or other parts of the body. This is effected through access openings in the gown which are normally covered, hence an examination may be carried out without the need to remove the garment.

B. The gown has a toga'like appearance that is flattering to all sizes and shapes of the male and female human anatomy. In practice, two distinct sizes are sufficient to accommodate most people, regardless of their weight, height and shape.

C. The examination gown may be produced by simple die-cutting operations to create twodimensional blanks that require no further processing, These blanks maybe folded and packaged in flat, compact form, so that a large supply of gowns may be maintained by a medical facility in a rela' tively small storage area.

D. The examination gown is readily donned with one sweep of the arm.

The principles underlying the medical gown design disclosed herein are also applicable to disposable beauty-salon smocks, patio dresses, bathrobes, and other articles of low-cost apparel.

Briefly stated, these objects are accomplished in a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours being such as to define a front section having examination access openings therein, and an upper flap extension adapted to fold over the front section to cover the openings, the front section being integral with aback section. The front and back sections are provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions, whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm, the garment being open along the other side. The sections may also be slitted to define complementary pull-out straps which may be tied together at the other side of the wearer preferably at the waist, to prevent the panels from flapping.

OUTLINE OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and features thereof, reference is made to the following detailed description to be read in conjunction with the annexed drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a blank adapted to create a togalike medical examination gown in accordance with the invention, and the manner in which the blank is die-cut from a web of fabric sheeting material;

FIG. 2 shows the examination gown on a patient, in front view;

FIG. 3 is the same as FIG. 2, except that the flap of the gown is raised to expose the access openings in the front section;

FIG. 4 shows the examination gown on the patient as seen from the rear;

FIG. 5 illustrates a blank adapted to create an obstetrical examination gown in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 shows the obstetrical examination gown on a patient, in front view, with the body flap open;

FIG. 7 is the same as FIG. 6, but with the body flap closed;

FIG. 8 is a blank adapted to create the inner panel of a twin-toga obstetrical examination gown;

FIG. 9 is a blank adapted to create the outer panel of the twin-toga gown;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the twin-toga gown on the patient;

FIG. 11 is the same as FIG. 10, except that the front section of the outer panel is lifted;

FIG. 12 is a blank adapted to create a toga-type beauty-salon or patio dress;

FIG. I3 is a front view of the patio gown; and

FIG. I4 is a rear view of the patio gown.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. I, there is shown a twodimensional blank, generally designated by numeral 10, which is die-cut from a web 11 of suitable low-cost paper or other sheet-like fabric material. The invention maybe used with any suitable low-cost fabric, whether unwoven, woven, knitted or otherwise produced. The nature of the blank is such that when applied to the body of a patient, it forms a three-dimensional medical examination gown without the need for heating-sealing, glueing, pins, or other fastening means to maintain the form of the garment.

The blank is created by a straightforward die-cutting operation which produces the desired profile as well as the necessary aperture and slits therein. As will be seen in FIG. I, to maximize utilization of the web material and minimize waste, the cutting actions are interlaced with respect to the transverse lines separating the blanks.

In practice, only 1% square yards of sheet material are required for a typical examination gown, and since die-cutting is the only operation involved in making a complete garment, the production cost of a garment made of acceptable non-woven material or paper of good quality, may run in the range of five to twenty cents. In other words, the cost of producing the garments is mainly the cost of the material itself.

The profile of blank 10 is such as to define a flared front section II and a similarly flared back section 12 integral therewith. Front section II is provided with a flap extension 13 which is foldable over a pair of openings I4 and 15 dimensioned to accommodate the chest or breast of the wearer. The openings preferably extend to the bottom of rib cage to facilitate stethoscopic examination, in which event the flap dimensions must be such as to adequately cover these openings.

Sections II and 12 are provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions 16 and 17, respectively. Front section 11 is slitted to form a pull-out strap 18, and back section 12 is similarly slitted to define a complementary pull-out strap 19. The back section is provided with a series of access slots 2 I, 22 and 23. In practice this may be slitted to form pullout doors rather than slots.

When applying the blank to the wearer to form a three-dimensional examination gown, the wearer, holding tabs 16 and 17 in each hand, with a right and backward circular sweep, wraps the blank about his body so that the junction Y between the two sections is caused to lie against the right side of the wearer under the right arm, whereby the front section, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, lies against the body of the wearer at the front thereof and the back section lies against the back.

Tabs 16 and 17 are tied over the shoulder above the left arm of the wearer, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, so that the gown is supported from a single shoulder in the manner of a toga, and the sections drape naturally and gracefully over the body. Because of the flared character of the sections, and the capelet effect produced by the flap, the net effect of the garment is stylish rather than shapeless or strictly utilitarian.

For purposes of breast examination, one has merely to lift flap 13 to expose the breast through openings I4 and IS, the breast otherwise being concealed. These openings may also be used for cardiographic testing. Stethoscopic chest examination may be effected through back slots 21, 22 and 23. Unimpeded examination on the left or heart side is made possible by the opening between the two sections. This side may be kept free, or the two sections may be held together by tying pull-out straps 18 and 19 at the waist position to prevent the sections from flapping.

Thus modesty is ensured by the front flap or capelet, and the garment is held to the person without the need for fasteners or other means that have to be attached to the blank. In practice, the blank may be folded into a unit, and bulk packs provided with a dozen or more units per pack for use in doctors offices and in hospitals.

The blank shown in FIG. 5 is similar to that in FIG. 1, except that the blank is particularly adapted to create an obstetrical examination gown. For this purpose, the blank, generally designated by numeral 24, is provided with a front section 25 integral with a back section 26.

Front section 25 includes breast holes 26 and 27, covered by a fold-over breast flap extension 28. The front and rear sections include tab extensions 29 and 30 at their respective upper comers, whose function is to tie the gown over the left shoulder. The back section is provided with a lateral flap extension which, when the blank is wrapped about the patient, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, overlies the lower portion of front section 25 to cover an abdomen hole 32.

Lateral flap 31 includes a tab extension 33 which is tied to a pull-out strap 34 to maintain the abdomen hole covered, as shown in FIG. 7. Thus in this gown arrangement, there is an abdomen as well as a breast flap to preserve modesty.

In the obstetrical gown arrangement shown in FIGS. 8, 9, l0 and II, the gown is formed by two panels, namely an inner-panel blank 35, as shown in FIG. 8 and an outer-panel blank 36, as shown in FIG. 9. The innerpanel blank is formed by a front section 37 having breast holes 38 and 39 and an abdomen hole 40, which front section is integral with a back section 41. The sections are provided with tab extensions 42 and 43. Thus when the inner panel is worn toga fashion, it is tied over the left shoulder by tabs 42 and 43, and since there are no flaps, the holes are uncovered.

The outer panel 36 has a front section 44 and a back section 45, with the usual tab extensions 46 and 47. When this outer panel is worn over the inner panel, it is tied over the right shoulder, as shown in FIGS. and 11, so that the gown is in effect a twin-toga. To expose the openings for examination purposes, one merely lifts the front section of the outer panel. This two-panel garment without the apertures, is usable as a beauty-salon gown or a gown for any other purpose.

In FIGS. l2, l3 and 14, there is shown a blank 48 adapted to function as a beauty-salon gown or patio dress, and provided with two complementary pairs of tab extension 49-50 and 51-52, as well as a decorative banner extension 53.

This blank is constituted by a common back section 54 and opposing front sections 55 and 56, so that when wrapped about the wearer, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a twin-toga effect is achieved, for then the junction of the back section and one front section lies under one arm, and the junction of the back section and the other front section lies under the other arm. This may be converted into an examination gown by providing holes in one of the front sections, which holes are normally covered by the other front section.

While there have been shown and described preferred embodiments of toga-like disposable garments in accordance with the invention, it will be appreciated that many changes and modifications may be made therein without, however, departing from the essential spirit of the invention.

I claim:

I. A toga-like disposable gown usable for medical examination and other purposes, said gown comprising a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours of the blank defining a front section and a back section integral therewith, the front and back sections being shaped so that their opposing upper corners extend to a shoulder of the wearer and being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions, whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm, said front section having chest openings therein, and an upper flap extension integral with said from section and foldable thereover normally to conceal said chest openings.

2. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including openings in the back section to facilitate examination of the wearers back.

3. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including slits in said front and rear sections to define pull-out straps for tying together the sections on the other side of the wearer.

4. A gown as set forth in claim 3 wherein said straps are positioned at waist level.

5. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including an abdomen opening in said from section and provided with a body flap extending laterally from said back section and adapted normally to cover said abdomen opening.

6. A gown as set forth in claim 5 further including slits in said body flap and said front section to define pull-out straps for tying said body flap over said front section.

7. A gown as set forth in claim 1, wherein said blank is made of non-woven fabric material.

8. A toga-like disposable gown usable for medical examination and other purposes, said gown comprising a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours of the blank defining a front section and a back section integral therewith, the front and back sections being shaped so that their opposing upper corners extend to a shoulder of the wearer and being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions, whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm, said front section having chest openings therein, and a second blank which is identical to the first blank except that the complementary tab extensions are adapted to be tied over the shoulder of said one arm, whereby said second blank, when wrapped about the wearer over the first blank, with the junction of the sections of the second blank lying against the other side of the wearer, serves to conceal saidopenings in the first blank.

' =0 I 1B i =8 

1. A toga-Like disposable gown usable for medical examination and other purposes, said gown comprising a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours of the blank defining a front section and a back section integral therewith, the front and back sections being shaped so that their opposing upper corners extend to a shoulder of the wearer and being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions, whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm, said front section having chest openings therein, and an upper flap extension integral with said front section and foldable thereover normally to conceal said chest openings.
 2. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including openings in the back section to facilitate examination of the wearer''s back.
 3. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including slits in said front and rear sections to define pull-out straps for tying together the sections on the other side of the wearer.
 4. A gown as set forth in claim 3 wherein said straps are positioned at waist level.
 5. A gown as set forth in claim 1, further including an abdomen opening in said front section and provided with a body flap extending laterally from said back section and adapted normally to cover said abdomen opening.
 6. A gown as set forth in claim 5 further including slits in said body flap and said front section to define pull-out straps for tying said body flap over said front section.
 7. A gown as set forth in claim 1, wherein said blank is made of non-woven fabric material.
 8. A toga-like disposable gown usable for medical examination and other purposes, said gown comprising a two-dimensional contoured blank formed of sheet material having fabric properties, the contours of the blank defining a front section and a back section integral therewith, the front and back sections being shaped so that their opposing upper corners extend to a shoulder of the wearer and being provided at their opposing upper corners with complementary tab extensions, whereby when the blank is wrapped about the wearer with the junction of the sections lying against one side of the wearer under one arm, the garment may be held in place by tying the tabs together over the shoulder above the other arm, said front section having chest openings therein, and a second blank which is identical to the first blank except that the complementary tab extensions are adapted to be tied over the shoulder of said one arm, whereby said second blank, when wrapped about the wearer over the first blank, with the junction of the sections of the second blank lying against the other side of the wearer, serves to conceal said openings in the first blank. 